Microwave and millimeter wave switch matrices are essential components in telecommunication systems. These matrices enhance satellite capacity by providing full and flexible interconnectivity between the received and transmitted signals and facilitate optimum utilization of system bandwidth. Waveguide and semiconductor technology are two prominent candidates for the realizing such types of switch matrices. Waveguide switches are dominant in high frequency applications of 100 ? 200 GHz and in high power satellite communication. However, their heavy and bulky profile reinforces the need for a replacement. In some applications, semiconductor switches are an alternative to mechanical waveguide switches and utilize PIN diodes to create the ON and OFF states. Although, these switches are small in size, they exhibit poor RF performance and low power handling. <br /><br /> RF MEMS technology is a good candidate to replace the conventional switches and to realize an entire switch matrix. This technology has a great potential to offer superior RF performance with miniaturized dimensions. Because of the advantages of MEMS technology numerous research studies have been devoted to develop RF MEMS switches. However, they are mostly concentrated on Single-Pole Single-Throw (SPST) configurations and very limited work has been performed on MEMS multi-port switches and switch matrices. Here, this research has been dedicated on developing multi-port RF MEMS switches and amenable interconnect networks for switch matrix applications. To explore the topic, three tasks are considered: planar (2D) multi-port RF MEMS switches, 3D multi-port RF MEMS switches, and RF MEMS switch matrix integration. <br /><br /> One key objective of this thesis is to investigate novel configurations for planar multi-port (SPNT), C-type, and R-type switches. Such switches represent the basic building blocks of switch matrices operating at microwave frequencies. An in house monolithic fabrication process dedicated to electrostatic multi-port RF MEMS switches is developed and fine tuned. The measurement results exhibit an excellent RF performance verifying the concept. Also, thermally actuated multi-port switches for satellite applications are designed and analyzed. The switch performance at room condition as well as at a very low temperature of 77K degrees (to resemble the harsh environment of satellite applications) is measured and discussed in detail. <br /><br /> For the first time, a new category of 3D RF MEMS switches is introduced to the MEMS community. These switches are not only extremely useful for high power applications but also have a great potential for high frequencies and millimetre-waves. The concept is based on the integration of vertically actuated MEMS actuators inside 3D transmission lines such as waveguides and coaxial lines. An SPST and C-type switches based on the integration of rotary thermal and electrostatic actuators are designed and realized. The concept is verified for the frequencies up to 30GHz with measured results. A high power test analysis and measurement data indicates no major change in performance as high as 13W. <br /><br /> The monolithic integration of the RF MEMS switch matrix involves the design and optimization of a unique interconnect network which is amenable to the MEMS fabrication process. While the switches and interconnect lines are fabricated on the front side, taking advantage of the back side patterning provides a high isolation for cross over junctions. Two different techniques are adopted to optimize the interconnect network. They are based on vertical three-via interconnects and electromagnetically coupled junctions. The data illustrates that for a return loss of less than -20dB up to 30GHz, an isolation of better than 40dB is obtained. This technique not only eliminates the need for expensive multilayer manufacturing process such as Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) but also provides a unique approach to fabricate the entire switch matrix monolithically.

Microwave and millimeter wave switch matrices are essential components in telecommunication systems. These matrices enhance satellite capacity by providing full and flexible interconnectivity between the received and transmitted signals and facilitate optimum utilization of system bandwidth. Waveguide and semiconductor technology are two prominent candidates for the realizing such types of switch matrices. Waveguide switches are dominant in high frequency applications of 100 ? 200 GHz and in high power satellite communication. However, their heavy and bulky profile reinforces the need for a replacement. In some applications, semiconductor switches are an alternative to mechanical waveguide switches and utilize PIN diodes to create the ON and OFF states. Although, these switches are small in size, they exhibit poor RF performance and low power handling. <br /><br /> RF MEMS technology is a good candidate to replace the conventional switches and to realize an entire switch matrix. This technology has a great potential to offer superior RF performance with miniaturized dimensions. Because of the advantages of MEMS technology numerous research studies have been devoted to develop RF MEMS switches. However, they are mostly concentrated on Single-Pole Single-Throw (SPST) configurations and very limited work has been performed on MEMS multi-port switches and switch matrices. Here, this research has been dedicated on developing multi-port RF MEMS switches and amenable interconnect networks for switch matrix applications. To explore the topic, three tasks are considered: planar (2D) multi-port RF MEMS switches, 3D multi-port RF MEMS switches, and RF MEMS switch matrix integration. <br /><br /> One key objective of this thesis is to investigate novel configurations for planar multi-port (SPNT), C-type, and R-type switches. Such switches represent the basic building blocks of switch matrices operating at microwave frequencies. An in house monolithic fabrication process dedicated to electrostatic multi-port RF MEMS switches is developed and fine tuned. The measurement results exhibit an excellent RF performance verifying the concept. Also, thermally actuated multi-port switches for satellite applications are designed and analyzed. The switch performance at room condition as well as at a very low temperature of 77K degrees (to resemble the harsh environment of satellite applications) is measured and discussed in detail. <br /><br /> For the first time, a new category of 3D RF MEMS switches is introduced to the MEMS community. These switches are not only extremely useful for high power applications but also have a great potential for high frequencies and millimetre-waves. The concept is based on the integration of vertically actuated MEMS actuators inside 3D transmission lines such as waveguides and coaxial lines. An SPST and C-type switches based on the integration of rotary thermal and electrostatic actuators are designed and realized. The concept is verified for the frequencies up to 30GHz with measured results. A high power test analysis and measurement data indicates no major change in performance as high as 13W. <br /><br /> The monolithic integration of the RF MEMS switch matrix involves the design and optimization of a unique interconnect network which is amenable to the MEMS fabrication process. While the switches and interconnect lines are fabricated on the front side, taking advantage of the back side patterning provides a high isolation for cross over junctions. Two different techniques are adopted to optimize the interconnect network. They are based on vertical three-via interconnects and electromagnetically coupled junctions. The data illustrates that for a return loss of less than -20dB up to 30GHz, an isolation of better than 40dB is obtained. This technique not only eliminates the need for expensive multilayer manufacturing process such as Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) but also provides a unique approach to fabricate the entire switch matrix monolithically.

Nesta dissertação, os principais conceitos de MEMS, suas aplicações, processos de fabricação, componentes e sistemas são abordados. O objetivo desta dissertação é o estudo detalhado de chaves MEMS para aplicações em RF, que apresentam bom comportamento em altas freqüências e com potencial de melhoria em sua banda de operação. Em particular, aprofundou-se o estudo para o caso de uma chave MEMS de membrana capacitiva paralela sobre um guia de onda coplanar ou CPW - Coplanar Waveguide. O objetivo foi o de ampliar sua banda de operação, mantendo-se outras especificações inalteradas. Partindo-se de uma chave com banda de operação nula para critérios de perda de retorno e isolação mínimas iguais a 20 dB, com alteração na geometria da chave foi possível obter-se uma banda de 28 GHz e posteriormente ampliá-la para 31 GHz, praticamente sem alteração nas demais características elétricas. / In this thesis, the main concepts of MEMS, their application, fabrication processes, components and systems are addressed. The objective of the thesis is a detailed study of MEMS switches for RF applications, that present good performance at high frequencies and with a potential for bandwidth improvement. More specifically, the study was deeply conducted for shunt capacitive membrane MEMS switches over CPW - Coplanar Waveguide. In this case, the objective was to enlarge the operation bandwidth, keeping the other specifications unchanged. Starting with a switch with null operational bandwidth for criteria of minimum return loss and isolation of 20 dB, after a modification in the switch geometry, it was possible to obtain an operational bandwidth of 28 GHz and then to enlarge it to 31 GHz, keeping almost unchanged the other electric characteristics.

Nesta dissertação, os principais conceitos de MEMS, suas aplicações, processos de fabricação, componentes e sistemas são abordados. O objetivo desta dissertação é o estudo detalhado de chaves MEMS para aplicações em RF, que apresentam bom comportamento em altas freqüências e com potencial de melhoria em sua banda de operação. Em particular, aprofundou-se o estudo para o caso de uma chave MEMS de membrana capacitiva paralela sobre um guia de onda coplanar ou CPW - Coplanar Waveguide. O objetivo foi o de ampliar sua banda de operação, mantendo-se outras especificações inalteradas. Partindo-se de uma chave com banda de operação nula para critérios de perda de retorno e isolação mínimas iguais a 20 dB, com alteração na geometria da chave foi possível obter-se uma banda de 28 GHz e posteriormente ampliá-la para 31 GHz, praticamente sem alteração nas demais características elétricas. / In this thesis, the main concepts of MEMS, their application, fabrication processes, components and systems are addressed. The objective of the thesis is a detailed study of MEMS switches for RF applications, that present good performance at high frequencies and with a potential for bandwidth improvement. More specifically, the study was deeply conducted for shunt capacitive membrane MEMS switches over CPW - Coplanar Waveguide. In this case, the objective was to enlarge the operation bandwidth, keeping the other specifications unchanged. Starting with a switch with null operational bandwidth for criteria of minimum return loss and isolation of 20 dB, after a modification in the switch geometry, it was possible to obtain an operational bandwidth of 28 GHz and then to enlarge it to 31 GHz, keeping almost unchanged the other electric characteristics.

This thesis presents design, fabrication and testing of a number of multi-frequency band microstrip-fed re-configurable microstrip patch antennas. All re-configurable antennas are designed to change from one resonance frequency to another by an electronic control of RF MEMS switches, one at a time. Besides a fixed size slot on the patch, switches are placed in insets for satisfying better input match at each resonance frequency individually. Also some switches are placed into the slot for adding another resonance frequency to change the effective slot-length like effective inset length changing.To actuate the RF MEMS switches in the configured way, DC-stubs are also designed to apply required potential difference between switch ports and the carrier. These stubs exhibit RF-open at switch side to prevent any RF leakage, and DCground on the other side. That RF short-to-open conversion is accomplished together with feed structure / with a taper depending on the feed network selected. All devices introduced here are built by Microwave Research Group in Electrical and Electronics Department, Middle East Technical University. Depending on the sensitivity of structure, some devices are built by RF MEMS group in Microelectronic Production Plant for MEMS (METU &amp / #8211 / MET) during the thesis study. Therefore this study is the continuation of the first national work on fabrication of RF MEMS devices.

De nos jours, les antennes sont de plus en plus complexes en raison notamment de la nécessité de réaliser une reconfigurabilité en fréquence et/ou en diagramme. Les réseaux réflecteurs et les surfaces sélectives en fréquence sont des candidats particulièrement intéressants pour couvrir les besoins actuels. Cependant, en raison de leur grande taille et de la complexité géométrique croissante de leurs cellules élémentaires, l‘analyse électromagnétique complète de ces structures rayonnantes nécessite énormément de ressources informatiques (mémoire) et exige des temps de calcul prohibitifs, notamment lorsque des éléments de commande tels que des MEMS-RF sont intégrés au sein des cellules. Les techniques numériques classiques basées sur un maillage (spatial ou spectral) systématique ne parviennent pas à simuler de manière efficace de telles structures multi-échelles et nécessitent souvent des ressources informatiques difficiles d’accès pour le concepteur d'antennes. Une technique originale baptisée « Scale Changing Technique (SCT) » tente de résoudre ce problème en segmentant le réseau en de multiples domaines imbriqués les uns dans les autres et présentant divers niveaux d'échelle. Le multi-pôle par changement d’échelle, appelé « Scale Changing Network (SCN) », modélise le couplage électromagnétique entre deux niveaux d’échelle successifs. Ce multi-pôle peut être calculé en résolvant les équations de Maxwell à partir d’une Formulation par Equations Intégrales. La mise en cascade des multi-pôles par changement d’échelle permet alors le calcul de la matrice impédance (ou admittance) de surface du réseau complet. Cette matrice peut à son tour être utilisée pour simuler la diffusion électromagnétique d’une onde incidente par le réseau. Le calcul des différents multi-pôles par changement d’échelle peut être effectué séparément de sorte que le temps de simulation du réseau complet peut être considérablement réduit en parallélisant le calcul. Par ailleurs, la modification de la géométrie de la structure à une échelle donnée, lors de la phase de conception, nécessite seulement le calcul de deux multi-pôles par changement d’échelle et ne requiert pas une nouvelle simulation de toute la structure. Cette caractéristique fait de la SCT un outil de conception modulaire. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, la SCT a permis de tenir compte de la taille finie des réseaux et de modéliser efficacement les couplages électromagnétiques entre les cellules élémentaires. Des réseaux réflecteurs uniformes et non uniformes ont été simulés par la SCT et les performances numériques de la méthode ont été analysées. / Future antenna architectures especially for space applications are becoming more and more complex due to the need of reconfigurability. This reconfigurability is needed in terms of frequency, reliability, radiation pattern and power consumption. In this context, reflectarrays and frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) are particularly the hottest domains of RF design. The accurate analysis of electromagnetic (EM) scattering from such type of complex finite-sized reflectarray antenna structures is of great practical interest. However due to their large electrical size and complex cellular patterns specially when tuning elements such as RF-MEMS are also integrated within the array elements, conventional full-wave EM analysis of such multiscale structures either fail or require enormous amount of computational resources to resolve prohibitively large number of unknowns. Moreover the characterization of large structures would normally require a second step for optimization and fine-tuning of several design parameters, as the initial design procedure assumes several approximations. Therefore a full-wave analysis of the initial design of complete structure is necessary prior to fabrication to ensure that the performance conforms to the design requirements. A modular analysis technique which is capable of incorporating geometrical changes at individual cell-level without the need to rerun the entire simulation is extremely desirable at this stage. An indigenous technique called Scale Changing Technique (SCT) addresses this problem by partitioning the cellular reflectarray geometry in numerous nested domains and subdomains defined at different scale-levels in the array plane. Multi-modal networks, called Scale Changing Networks (SCNs), are then computed to model the electromagnetic interactions between any two successive partitions by method of moments (MoM) based integral equation approach. The cascade of these networks allows the computation of the equivalent surface impedance matrix of the complete array which in turn is utilized to compute far-field radiation patterns. Full-wave analysis of both passive and active (electronically tunable by RF-MEMS) reflectarrays has successfully been performed by the SCT while utilizing very small amount of computational resources as compared to conventional full wave methods. Moreover, to speed up the SCT modeling of the reflectarrays, equivalent electrical circuit models have been extracted and applied for individual design and optimization of the reflectarray phase shifter elements.

Dual band (K and Ka) electronically scanning reflectarray with RF MEMS switches is designed, implemented and measured. Unit cell of the reflect array is composed of conductor backed split-ring elements. In order to steer the beam, the phase of the incident circularly polarized wave is controlled by RF MEMS switches that modify the angular orientation of split-rings individually. Reflectarray is designed using unit cell approach with periodic boundary conditions. The antenna is fabricated by using surface micromachining process developed in METU MEMS Center. Radiation patterns of the antenna are measured and compared with the simulations. It has been shown that the reflectarray is capable of beam switching to 35&deg / in Ka band, 24&deg / in K band.

This dissertation presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of low-voltage capacitive RF MEMS switches. Although, RF MEMS switches have shown superior performance as compared to the existing solid-state semiconductor switches and are viable alternate to the present and the future communication systems, not been able to match the commercial standards due to their poor reliability. Dielectric charging due high actuation is one of the major concerns that limit the reliability of these switches. Hence, the focus of this thesis is on the development of low actuation voltage RF MEMS switches without compromising much on their RF and dynamic performances i.e., low insertion loss and high isolation. Four different switch topologies are studied and discussed. Electromechanical and electromagnetic modelling is presented to study the effect of various components that comprise a MEMS switch on the transient and the RF behaviour. The analytical expressions for switching and release times are established in order to estimate the switching and release times. An in-house developed surface micromachining process is adapted for the micro fabrication. This process eliminates the need for an extra mask used for the anchors and restricts the overall process to four-masks only. These switches are fabricated on 500 µm thick glass substrate. A 0.5 µm thick gold film is used as the structural material. For the final release of the switch, chemical wet etching technique is employed. The fabricated MEMS switches are characterized mechanically and electrically by measuring mechanical resonant frequency, quality factor, pull-in, and pull-up voltages. Since, low actuation voltage switches have slow response time. One of the key objectives of this thesis is to realize switches with fast response time at low actuation voltage. Measurements are performed to estimate the switching and release times. The measured Q-factors of switches are found to be in between 1.1 -1.4 which is the recommended value for Q in MEMS switches for a suppressed oscillation after the release. Furthermore, the effect of hole size on the switching dynamics is addressed. RF measurements are carried out to measure the S-parameters in order to quantify the RF performance. The measured results demonstrate that these switches need low actuation voltage in range of 4.5 V to 8.5 V for the actuation. The measured insertion loss less than -0.8 dB and isolation better than 30 dB up to 40 GHz is reported. In addition, the robustness of realized switches is tested using in-house developed Lab View-based automated measurement test set-up. The reliability test analysis shows no degradation in the RF performance even after 10 millions of switching cycles. Overall yield of 70 -80% is estimated in the present work. Finally, the experimentally measured results presented in this work prove the successful development of low actuation voltage capacitive RF MEMS switches and also offers that even with 0.5 µm thick gold film better reliability for MEMS switches can be achieved.

Les matériaux ferroélectriques suscitent beaucoup d’intérêt du fait de leurs propriétés physiques telles que la piézoélectricité, la ferroélectricité ou encore leur permittivité élevée. Ainsi, on cherche à les intégrer dans les micro- et nano-systèmes dans lesquels on les retrouve généralement sous forme de couche mince dans une configuration de type capacité plane. En particulier, l’oxyde de plomb, titane et zirconium (PZT) est un matériau très attractif pour les applications RF capacitives du fait de sa grande permittivité. Son intégration sur des électrodes métalliques, i.e. les lignes coplanaires constituant le guide d’onde, implique de maîtriser sa croissance en film mince. L’application d’une tension dans un dispositif RF actif impose également de contrôler les propriétés électriques : nature des courants de fuite et comportement ferroélectrique du PZT. Dans ce contexte, les couches minces de PZT sont déposées par ablation laser (PLD) sur un empilement La₀.₆₇Sr₀.₃₃MnO₃ (LSMO) / Pt (111) déposé sur un substrat monocristallin de saphir. La couche d’accroche conductrice LSMO est nécessaire afin d’éviter la formation d’une phase pyrochlore paraélectrique. Le contrôle de l’orientation cristalline de la couche de LSMO permet de contrôler la texturation de la couche de PZT. Les courants de fuite au travers de l’empilement Pt/PZT/LSMO/Pt ont ensuite été étudiés dans l’intervalle de température 220-330K de façon à déterminer les mécanismes de conduction. Une transition a été mise en évidence entre, autour de la température ambiante, un mécanisme contrôlé par la diffusion des charges en volume et, à basse température, un mécanisme contrôlé par l’injection des charges aux interfaces électrode/PZT. Un mécanisme par sauts a été identifié au-dessus de 280K en cohérence avec la présence de défauts étendus et la structure colonnaire du PZT. Afin de contrôler ces courants de fuite, différentes stratégies ont été utilisées. La première consiste à insérer une couche d’oxyde isolante à l’interface supérieure Pt/PZT modifiant ainsi l’injection des charges et permettant de réduire les courants de fuite. La seconde stratégie consiste, quant à elle, à modifier la structure de la couche de PZT en volume en élaborant des composites diélectrique/PZT multicouches ou colonnaires. Ainsi, une couche d’oxyde isolante a été insérée au milieu de la couche de PZT et a permis de réduire les courants de fuite. Le contrôle de la nucléation du PZT a également permis par nanofabrication d’élaborer un composite colonnaire pérovskite PZT/pyrochlore. La densité de piliers de pyrochlore dans la phase ferroélectrique permet de moduler la densité de courant dans la structure. Le PZT et les hétérostructures permettant de réduire les courants de fuite ont ensuite été intégrés dans une structure RF capacitive avec des lignes coplanaires d’or. Les performances RF en termes d’isolation et de pertes par insertion ainsi que la compatibilité de ces différents matériaux ont été étudiées et ont montré que les solutions développées dans le cadre du contrôle des courants de fuite sont prometteuses pour être intégrées dans les dispositifs RF capacitifs. En outre, on a cherché à extraire la permittivité à haute fréquence du PZT lorsque celui-ci est inséré dans une structure capacitive. Cette étude a notamment permis de mettre en évidence les points techniques à modifier concernant la structure du dispositif afin de parvenir à exploiter les propriétés physiques du PZT à haute fréquence. / Ferroelectric materials are raising a lot of interest due to their physical properties such as piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity or high dielectric constant. Thus, they are generally integrated in micro- and nano-systems as thin films in a capacitive configuration. Especially, the lead zirconate titanate oxide (PZT) is an attractive material for capacitive RF applications due to its high dielectric constant. The growth of the PZT thin film has to be controlled on metallic electrodes for its integration on coplanar transmission lines. Moreover, electrical properties such as leakage current and ferroelectric behavior of PZT have to be monitored upon application of a dc voltage bias for RF device operation. In this context, PZT thin films were grown by the pulsed laser deposition technique (PLD) on a La₀.₆₇Sr₀.₃₃MnO₃ (LSMO) / Pt (111) electrode on a monocrystalline sapphire substrate. The LSMO buffer layer is mandatory to avoid the formation of the paraelectric pyrochlore phase. The control of the crystalline orientation of the LSMO layer allows for the control of the PZT layer texture. Leakage currents through the Pt/PZT/LSMO/Pt stack were then studied in the 220-330K temperature range to determine the conduction mechanisms. A transition is evidenced between a bulk-controlled mechanism near room temperature and an interface-controlled mechanism at low temperature. A hopping mechanism is identified above 280K in line with the presence of extended defects and the columnar structure of the PZT layer. Several strategies were tested to control leakage currents. The first one consists in inserting an insulating oxide layer at the top Pt/PZT interface. In this way, charge injection was modified and leakage currents were reduced. The second strategy consists in changing the PZT layer bulk structure by elaborating a layered or columnar dielectric/PZT composite. Thus, an insulating oxide layer was inserted in the middle of the PZT layer and permitted to reduce leakage currents. Moreover, the control of the PZT nucleation allowed for the elaboration of a columnar PZT/pyrochlore composite. The leakage currents in this composite can be tuned through the pyrochlore pillars density among the ferroelectric matrix. Then, PZT and the heterostructures for leakage current control were integrated in a capacitive RF structure with gold coplanar transmission lines. RF performances in terms of isolation and insertion loss of these materials were studied and gave good results. In particular the heterostructures developed to control the leakage currents are promising for their integration in capacitive RF devices. Besides, I tried to extract the permittivity of PZT at high frequency with the PZT layer in a capacitive configuration. This study highlighted the essential modifications of the capacitive structure that have to be made in order to be able to exploit PZT properties at high frequency.